Playing Human
by Poorfox
Summary: A fox and a human fought for an eternity, growing more powerful than any other creatures, and destroying all other life in the process. When the final blow is struck, Naruto goes back in time and decides to play a new game - to play at being human.


_A/N: This is the prologue to a fic I am considering writing - my time is, however, limited, and I'm working on others at the same time, so I'd appreciate as much reader response through reviews or PMs as possible, so I can decide how much time to spend on this as opposed to another fic. To speed things up, I'm thinking about collaborating, so if anyone is interested in joining me to work on this, get in touch. If things go to plan it will end up as a novel-length piece - and chapters will be considerably longer than this one, which is just a quick prologue to decide if anyone is interested._

_Poorfox_

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Teeth glinted in the moonlight. The moonlight was all that was left, now. Naruto could not remember the day that the sun had fallen, but the devastating remains of its destruction lay all around him. The world was in tatters. A mass of fur sodden with sweat and blood heaved, and the mouth holding rows of teeth accentuated by the silvery half-light opened. The beast was weak, and its voice was smaller than Naruto had ever heard before, although it had not lost any of the deep resonance which sent a tingle of awe and fear into the very marrow of human bones. More deity than mortal, Naruto was wholly unaffected.

"**Was it worth it, brat? Are you proud of what you have done?"**

Naruto looked at the gigantic fox sprawled before him, watching the way that its nine tails swished back and forth in the air, growing slower and falling lower as the beast's strength waned. The cost had been high, but he had finally won a battle that had spanned an eternity.

"I am, old friend. I truly am," he said. There had been no casualties in this particular fight, the most recent of an infinite war – Naruto had seen to that. In one fell blow, he had seen to it that every living creature save himself would die. "I grew weary of our squabble a little while ago. It was past time that we stopped fighting. I almost regret having to kill you."

"**And you do not regret killing so much else?" **Naruto raised an eyebrow – there was an odd note in the fox's voice, something that he had rarely heard before.

"It was worth it." The fox closed its eyes and chuckled softly – for a creature of its size. "Make no mistake, it was the hardest thing I have ever done, but it was worth it. Such a simple solution. Elegant, almost," said Naruto. When one eyelid cracked open wearily, and Naruto saw the gleam in crimson slit, he recognized the odd tone of voice; pride.

"**I was aiming for genocide of the human race, but you, Naruto, you have committed a crime so heinous that there is no name for it. You killed _everything_."**

A smile answered the fox, and understanding passed between the two. The beast had attacked Naruto through those he cared for so often, attacking not his weakness but his strength – driven forward by the desire to protect those he cared about, Naruto had driven himself onwards to outdo his potential. The fox had no desire to risk Naruto redoubling his efforts in an attempt to spare his precious people the burden of encountering the greatest of demons so it had disposed of them, leaving Naruto without the motivation which gave him unsurpassed strength when he needed it most.

Naruto had emulated the fox's tactics and eliminated the source of its strength.

"All power has to come from somewhere, so it stands to reason that a creature of fire draws power from fire. When I worked that out, it was not too difficult to understand how to beat you. I extinguished the brightest flame there is, and with it, I extinguished you."

**"Heh," **said the fox, curling its tails around its body as if in an attempt to keep warm. "**I had not anticipated a foe willing to massacre for the sake of defeating me. I thought that I was the most powerful being of evil. As loath as I am to say it, I'm proud of you." **Naruto bowed his head in acknowledgement, understanding the depths of recognition laced in those simple words better than any other ever could. The fox had recognized Naruto as its better, like an older sibling watching a younger brother surpass them.

The fox let out a low sigh, and a brief cloud of warm air enveloped Naruto, shielding him from the frozen world for a few seconds. With no sun to bring heat, everything was colder than the worst of ice. Only the combination of incredible power and sheer stubbornness kept Naruto and the fox alive.

"I do not believe you to be evil," said Naruto. He could feel incredulity emanating from the fox, but it did not move. The cold had been slowly sapping its strength over the thousands of years since Naruto had plunged the world into eternal twilight, and now it had too little to waste.

"**I'm a demon, brat. I delight in carnage and live to kill. I have spent untold millennia seeking your death, as you have mine."**

Naruto nodded imperceptibly, eyes never leaving the fox.

"That is why," he said. "That is exactly why. You do as you do because it is in your nature. Humans who slaughter one another are often evil. Why? Because it is not in their nature."

A low laugh came from the fox, and it closed its eyes for the last time. The nine tails were almost still, now, and Naruto could feel the weariness pouring off the fox so thickly that it was every bit as tangible as the frozen air around them.

"**Does that make you evil?"** it asked. Naruto gave a wistful smile, thinking back over all that had happened to him. After such vast expanses of time, events had faded into on another, and he could no longer remember anything from longer than a few centuries – but he could still recall the shape of his past. Fallen bodies of humans and demons alike littered the bloody path through history that he and the fox had wrought; the most powerful two beings ever to have lived had destroyed everything else in their endless battle. Even the gods had trembled at their passing, and as centuries passed into millennia, and millennia faded into distant memory, they too had been crushed beneath the fox's tails and Naruto's fists.

"Most humans would call me evil. But I have a question for you – am I still human, after everything? We have seen nations rise and crumble. We have created them ourselves, and pit them against one another. We have been hailed as gods and devils alike, and our power is as great as any." Naruto paused, a rare feeling of nostalgia in his chest. It was something he hadn't felt since his decisive blow, destroying the sun and all other life with it. "The very fact that we live is a mark of our indomitable power – power beyond human comprehension, let alone human possession."

"**You're all that's left now. You and this lifeless hunk of rock. Nobody to call you evil any more, not even me."**

"I suspect that things will get terribly boring around here. I never did figure out the trick of creating new life," said Naruto. He quirked an eyebrow in the direction of the fox, and the fox answered the unspoken and unseen question.

"**Nor did I. But we're perfectly adept at playing with life that's already there."**

"Such a pity that I have no toys left." The fox smirked, revealing razor sharp canine teeth. Naruto dipped his head in acquiescence – he knew that the idea of humanity as a plaything amused the demon.

"**There are humans running around for you to play with, if only you look in the right place."**

"And where would that be?" asked Naruto, curious. He knew for a fact that there were no other living creatures left, and that the fox was up to something, but wanted to know what, regardless. It could even be interesting.

"**Not where, brat. When."**

Nine tails of fur and flame shot out from the fox's body, wrapping themselves around Naruto. Blazing heat consumed everything, and he felt his body melt away into a cloud of ash and cinders. The last few words of the fox followed Naruto into the void, and darkness swallowed him.

"**Do me a favour while you're playing at being human. Look after me. I was a foolish kit back then – foolish enough to get myself sealed away into your summon."**

Naruto managed to croak out a faint reply, near-destroyed vocal chords augmented by the immense power of his chakra and sheer force of will.

"When....?"

"**When it all began."**

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_A/N: This is the prologue to a fic I am considering writing - my time is, however, limited, and I'm working on others at the same time, so I'd appreciate as much reader response through reviews or PMs as possible, so I can decide how much time to spend on this as opposed to another fic. To speed things up, I'm thinking about collaborating, so if anyone is interested in joining me to work on this, get in touch. If things go to plan it will end up as a novel-length piece - and chapters will be considerably longer than this one, which is just a quick prologue to decide if anyone is interested._

_Poorfox_


End file.
